Sharif gave no assurances on 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed to Obama

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gave no assurance to US President Barack Obama.

Published:November 2, 2013 1:47 am

Washington: Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gave no assurance to US President Barack Obama when he was virtually grilled by his host for not taking action against the 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed.

After his meeting with Obama at the White House on October 23 and before he flew out of the Andrews Air Force Base,Sharif is understood to have told his close aides that he stood his ground and did not budge under pressure on the issue of Saeed,sources said.

Another source,familiar with Sharifs meetings,said the Obama administration is aware of the difficulties the new prime minister is facing with regard to taking strong action against terrorists like Saeed given their close proximity with the military establishment. PTI

Beijing: Islamist militants from Chinas restive Xinjiang province who carried out a suicide car crash at the iconic Tiananmen square visited the area thrice and bought knives and 400 litres of petrol before the attack,police said Friday. A group of eight people,hailing from Muslim Uighur majority Xinjiang came together in the provincial capital Urumqi,watched a terror video and later swore to join Jihad,state-run CCTV quoted police officials as saying as more details emerged about the October 28 incident. They were reportedly members of East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM),which is fighting for the independence of Xinjiang that borders PoK and Afghanistan. AP

New York: When US President Barack Obamas chances of being re-elected appeared bleak in 2012,his top aides had considered replacing Vice President Joe Biden with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the campaign,journalists Mark Halperin and John Heilemann write in their new book Double Down. Obamas top aides even undertook extensive focus-group sessions about replacing Biden and polling in late 2011,when the Presidents re-election for a second term appeared uncertain. The White House,however,denied the claim. President Obama never entertained the idea of dropping Biden and replacing him with Hillary Clinton,White House spokesman Jay Carney told CNN Friday. PTI